Need for HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing Services in Secondary Schools as Expressed by In-School Adolescents in Kwara State, Nigeria

This study was aimed at surveying the need for HIV-VCT services in secondary schools. Descriptive survey method was used in this study. The target popula- tion of this study comprised all in-school adolescents in Kwara State. Samples of 300 respondents were selected for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used in selecting in-school adolescents between ages 12 and 20. These adolescents were stratified based on age, religion and gender. Through a simple random sampling technique, one hundred respondents were selected from each of the senatorial districts (Kwara North, Kwara Central, Kwara South) in Kwara State. The instrument used was the Need for HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing Services in Secondary Schools Questionnaire (NHVCTSS). Results of this study revealed that there was no significant difference in the need for HIV- VCT services in secondary schools on the basis of gender and age. However, a significant difference was found on the basis of religion and school type. As such, it was recommended that counsellors should be trained in the basic concepts of HIV as a compulsory component of their professional curriculum to facilitate capacity in HIV-VCT services.

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